The Pact
by Kawaii-KeKe-Chan
Summary: After they fail to bring Sasuke home, Kakashi and Sakura find they have nothing to live for. Perhaps their reason can be…each other? [KakaSaku]
1. The past

**The Pact**

It had only been five hours since she had returned home, but Sakura had realised she had nothing to live for.

Her love hadn't changed Sasuke. It hadn't been enough. She wasn't even a good enough kunoichi to bring him down. Ultimately, she had failed.

She had bathed and changed her clothes, but her body still felt exhausted. Sakura wanted to lie down somewhere and never wake up. She wanted to turn back the clock to the first day of Team Seven. Could she have done anything differently?

Sakura knew the answer was no.

* * *

><p>Kakashi had walked into his apartment, seen the picture of Team Seven, and turned around and left again. He went to the nearest combini, bought the largest and strongest bottle of sake he could afford, and then made a quick journey to Rin and Obito's graves.<p>

"Forgive me, guys. I failed…again."

He cleaned the memorial stones and left fresh flowers for the last time. Then the copy-nin headed to the Hokage mountain monument.

"Minato-sensei…" Kakashi sat crossed-legged on the carved out, spiky hair of his former teacher. He unscrewed the top of the sake bottle, slowly pulled down his mask and took a long drink. The alcohol was strong and potent; it slid down his throat easily and caught in his chest.

Kakashi gazed out over Konoha, taking a shuddering sigh. He ran his hands through his grey hair before taking another drink.

"I was wrong again, Minato-sensei. How did I allow this to happen? My team members tried to kill each other today…"

Kakashi tried and failed to suppress the flashbacks of Obito, crushed beneath the rock. Rin, impaled on his Chidori.

"He…tried to use my attack to kill her…"

Kakashi took another drink, shaking his head at the similarities of the situation. Minato's team was so similar to Team Seven; even the third Kage had acknowledged it. Obito, with his outspoken confidence and brash aspiration to be Hokage, was Naruto. Kakashi, with his cool personality and unwillingness to work with Obito, was Sasuke. And Rin, with her devotion to Kakashi (Sasuke) and her medical prowess, was Sakura.

"I allowed the past the repeat itself!" Kakashi cursed, running his finger down the scar of his right eye. "I promised myself it would be different this time. But it's worse…"

"It's not your fault, Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura's voice came from above. The copy-nin blinked, quickly pulled up his mask, and watched as his student bounded down from the rocks above.

"Sakura…" Kakashi's uncovered eye was pained, and he looked away. "How long have you been listening?"

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop," Sakura admitted, sitting down next to her sensei. She wobbled a little, before putting down a bottle identical to Kakashi's own. "Snap! We have good taste!"

The copy-nin eyed the bottle with alarm. "Sakura! Where did you get that? You're not old enough to drink!"

"I never got that rule, sensei…" Sakura sighed, leaning her head against her knees. "I'm old enough to kill someone, but not old enough to drink alcohol?"

Kakashi eyed his student speculatively. She didn't appear too different, so she couldn't have consumed too much…he reached out and shook her bottle. His eye widened when he discovered it was almost half empty.

"It's okay, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura smiled sadly. "It's my father's. I'm just…borrowing some."

Her teacher sighed, before rubbing his hair. "I guess after the day you've had, I can't tell you not to…"

"Thanks, sensei…" Sakura took a drink from her bottle, before pulling a face. "I don't even like the taste. I prefer umeshu! But this dulls the pain faster."

"Sakura…" Kakashi looked at his student, who was clearly suffering as much as him. Her face was paler than usual, making her green eyes vivid. Purple shadows lined those eyes, eyes that had seen more than the average seventeen year old.

"I'm sorry, Sakura. As your sensei, I should have protected you. I should have stopped Sasuke a long time ago…"

"No, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed, putting her hand on her heart, "If I've realised anything, it's that no one could change Sasuke's fate. He was always going to seek revenge. Just as Naruto is always going to reach for Hokage."

Kakashi smiled a little at his student. "Perhaps. But what happened today…I have failed you all as a teacher."

Sakura shook her head in response. "I don't agree, Kakashi-sensei! There were many good times, too. I know it's hard to remember them now, but I protect those memories in my heart."

Kakashi swallowed, and turned his head to take another drink. Sakura respectively looked forwards, gazing over Konoha as the sun began to set.

"The Fourth was your teacher, ne?" Sakura asked after a while, patting the stone beneath them. "Naruto's father. I wish I could have met him. He seems like a great man."

"He was," Kakashi agreed huskily. "The very best. He was taken too soon…another regret. It seems everyone close to me meets a tragic end…"

"Sensei!" Sakura gasped, clapping her hand to her mouth. She had never really heard her teacher mention his past before.

"Sorry, Sakura," Kakashi dipped his head. "The alcohol is getting to me, it seems."

"That's okay…" Sakura said softly. "Kakashi-sensei…I didn't thank you earlier. But thank you…if you hadn't arrived, Sasuke-kun…would have killed me…"

It was hard saying it out loud. Sakura felt tears forming in her eyes, and she quickly reached for the bottle and gulped the alcohol down.

"Steady," Kakashi's hand was on her shoulder, and he lowered the bottle from her lips.

Sakura flushed with embarrassment at her weakness and nodded, replacing the cap.

"When I saw Sasuke try to attack you with Chidori, I knew we had lost him forever," Kakashi said quietly. He gripped the bottle at his side. "I no longer consider him a part of Team Seven, Sakura. He broke the most important ninja rule."

"I…" Sakura was lost for words. She knew there was no saving Sasuke now, but to hear her teacher say it made it reality.

"He would have regretted it, I'm sure…" Sakura said weakly. "Maybe he wouldn't have delivered a fatal blow? Maybe he was calling my bluff?"

"Sakura…" Kakashi closed his eyes sadly. "Can I tell you a story? It may change your opinion of me forever, and I understand if you never want to speak to me again."

"What?!" Sakura exclaimed, turned her body to face her teacher. "Kakashi-sensei, today wasn't the first time you saved my life! I admit I've been stupid in the past and if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have seen thirteen!"

"Regardless of that…" Kakashi sighed. "It doesn't atone for the sins of my past."

Sakura blinked, her green eyes locked onto his face.

"You know I was part of ANBU, right?"

"Yes," Sakura nodded. "I imagine you killed many people. But they were missions, right, sensei?"

"Yes," Kakashi agreed. "But I am also responsible for the death of both my team mates of Team Minato."

Sakura's eyes widened and her face became ever more pale. She gripped the rock beneath her. "When you say 'responsible'…?"

Kakashi nodded, unable to meet his student's eyes. "Obito was killed during a rescue mission. If I hadn't delayed us, it may not have happened. Rin…I killed Rin with my Chidori. I was attacking the enemy when she appeared in front of me."

* * *

><p>Sakura had never heard her teacher talk about such personal matters before. His words were weary and his shoulders slumped. He took another long drink from the bottle.<p>

"It doesn't sound like either were your fault, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said, putting her hand on her teacher's shoulder. He jumped at the touch, clearly not expecting it. "Especially Rin. It sounds like a complete accident!"

"Either way, I killed her," Kakashi said, his voice breaking with emotion. He covered the small hand resting on his shoulder with his own. "There is not one day that goes by where I don't regret it, Sakura. I would give anything to bring Rin back. That's why I cannot forgive Sasuke for what he tried to do to you."

"Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura tightened her grip on her teacher's shoulder.

"When I saw him about to use Chidori– the attack _I_ taught him, the one that killed Rin– I don't think I've ever been so angry in my life."

"What was Rin like?" Sakura asked, trying to gently change the subject. She could feel Kakashi shaking a little under her fingers. It wasn't like her teacher to be so un-composed.

"She was like you," Kakashi said, attempting a smile. "She was intelligent, caring, and looked out for the team. I was really proud when you decided to be a medic-nin, too."

Sakura smiled genuinely at that. "I didn't know that, sensei. I thought you were maybe…disappointed in me. I didn't see you much when Naruto was away training."

"Disappointed?" This time Kakashi turned in shock to Sakura. He grabbed both of her hands, holding them in front of their faces. "Sakura, you chose to protect. You chose healing over harming. How could I not be proud of you?"

Sakura bit her lip, trying to keep back more tears.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," Kakashi sighed, releasing her. "The truth is, when I heard you were training to be a medic-nin, it brought back strong memories of Rin. I deliberately distanced myself from you. I guess…I was still afraid of the past repeating itself. Although I was worried about me, not Sasuke."

"Oh…" realisation spread through Sakura, warm and tingling. She had been hurt by how quickly her teacher had disappeared from her life, assuming it was because his favourite students, Naruto and Sasuke, were no longer in Konoha.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you," Kakashi said, registering her reaction. "I'm…not very good at expressing my feelings usually…" with a chuckle, he nodded to the bottle.

"Thank you for telling me…" Sakura smiled, resting her chin on her knees. "I feel I understand you more now, Kakashi-sensei…"

The copy-nin nodded. He didn't let many people into his head. It was a bit of relief to share the pain for once.

"Can I ask why you chose to come up here, Sakura? Surely it's not the safest place to drink?"

"Oh…" Sakura swallowed, and looked down at Konoha. "I wanted to pick the highest spot."

"The highest…?" Kakashi repeated dumbly. Then his uncovered eye flashed wide, and he grabbed his student's shoulder, "Don't tell me you were planning to…?!"

"Yes…" Sakura nodded slowly. "I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei. You saved me today, but I was about to selfishly throw it away. If you hadn't been here…well, I guess I have to thank you twice…"

Kakashi tugged a little on Sakura's shoulder, making her face him. There were tears spilling down her face, and he felt his own threaten to fall. "Why, Sakura? You have your whole life ahead of you! Why would you possibly think this was your only option?"

"Because I failed, Kakashi-sensei! I failed to save Sasuke, then I failed to eliminate him. I'm a worthless ninja! I'm nothing but trash!"

"No!" Kakashi moved quickly, pulling Sakura into his arms, making her give a gasp of surprise. "You are NOT trash, Sakura! You supported Naruto all this time! You saved Kankuro, you even defeated a member of Akatsuki!"

"But I couldn't save Sasuke…" Sakura cried against her teacher's chest, gripping his vest, "I loved him so much, and I couldn't do anything!"

"Sakura…" Kakashi held his student close, as if he could shield her from the world. It had been a long time since someone had clung to him like this for support. He was a loner, considered "cool" by some and anti-social by others. He deliberately avoided human contact when he could. "No one's love could change Sasuke. Not Naruto, nor yours."

"I know…" Sakura was sobbing now, and Kakashi felt a single tear slide down his own cheek. He knew the pain Sakura was going through. He had often contemplated taking his own life after the loss of Obito and Rin. But he didn't have the courage to face them like that. Instead, he had thrown himself into his ANBU work, hoping someone would do the job for him.

"I also came here tonight with similar intentions…" Kakashi admitted, as he smoothed Sakura's hair under his hand. He had often patted his student on the head, but this gesture was more tender, more caring. "But talking to you reminded me why I cannot be so selfish. I have to continue to protect Konoha, and help Naruto become Hokage. It's what Obito, Rin and Minato-sensei would have wanted."

"Yes," Sakura agreed, drying her eyes. "I have to support Naruto too! And I want to become an even better healer."

"That's my girl." Kakashi gave his first proper smile of the day, and he ran his thumbs along Sakura's cheekbones, catching any missed tears.

"I don't think we need anymore of this…" Sakura laughed, emptying the sake bottles onto the rock, "Here's to you, Minato-sensei! Please help us watch over Naruto!"

Kakashi chuckled as the clear liquid ran over the rock, dripping down the Hokage's hair and splattering on his face. With carved smile, the trickling sake looked like happy tears.

* * *

><p>It was growing darker, and Kakashi made to stand, but his student, who was much stronger then he, pulled him back down. "Let's stay here a little longer, Kakashi-sensei…"<p>

"Aa…" the teacher agreed, a little surprised. He allowed Sakura to lay her head on his shoulder, and wrapped an arm loosely around her waist.

"Can we make a pact, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked. She suddenly felt very tired, the emotions of the day and the alcohol she had consumed making her eyes heavy.

"What kind of pact?" Kakashi asked, his voice cautious.

"That whenever we get sad about the past, or lonely, or feel low like this again, we tell each other? And we help each other out?"

The copy-nin chuckled, ruffling his student's hair. "Sure, Sakura. Sounds good."

They bit their thumbs and stuck them together, letting their blood mingle.

"Promise?" Sakura asked.

"Promise," Kakashi laughed.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm loving all the Kakashi x Sakura moments in the manga recently! It inspired this little tale. I expect it will be a couple of chapters, the first one is already complete!<strong>


	2. 2 years later

_2 years later…_

* * *

><p>"Kakashi-sensei!" the grey haired shinobi turned as several children yelled his name excitedly.<p>

"Yo!" Kakashi saluted, recognising the students from the Academy.

"We hope we're in your team, Kakashi-sensei!" a small girl with pigtails squealed.

"Hmm?" the copy-nin asked.

"We're going to be genin soon!" laughed a taller boy, who was wearing goggles on his head. "You were Naruto's sensei, right? I want to be in your team, Kakashi-sensei!"

"No, I do!"

"I do, too!"

"Ma, ma!" Kakashi raised his hands, quite unsure how to deal with his sudden popularity, "Only three students can be in a team, right guys? Why don't you go study for the exam?"

"You're right! Let's go study!" shouted the boy with the goggles, and the other children nodded, and together they charged off.

"What on earth was that?" Kakashi asked aloud, rubbing his hands through his hair. _Though it seems goggles have became fashionable again…_

The copy-nin smiled as he remembered Obito's orange goggles that he wore most of the time. Naruto had also favoured goggles, worn on his head, before he had became a genin.

* * *

><p>"Ahh, I'm late…" Kakashi realised, after many hours had slipped away from visiting Obito, Rin and Minato-sensei. Noticing the sun getting ready to set, Kakashi gulped. "Sakura's going to kill me…"<p>

However, an emergency operation meant that Sakura was still in the theatre when Kakashi arrived at the Konoha hospital. He was never a fan of the place, mainly because most of his bad memories stemmed from there, but he waited patiently in Sakura's office. The Hokage had promoted her protégé to Head Healer of the Konoha hospital only a few months ago, and Kakashi had hardly seen his student since.

The copy-nin settled in Sakura's chair, noticing how orderly her desk was. He opened the drawers, out of interest, but found nothing surprising. It still seemed like only yesterday Sakura was a fresh-faced genin. Now her drawers contained make-up, painkillers and…womanly things.

Perfectly at ease, Kakashi leaned back in the chair and produced the most recent Ichi Ichi novel, _Dreamer_. The series had been taken over by another author and although they weren't as good as the originals, Kakashi found it hard to get into another genre.

The copy-nin became so absorbed in a rather intense scene when Sakura breezed into the office, snapping off her latex gloves.

"Make yourself at home, sensei!" Sakura laughed, as she went over and washed her hands in the sink.

Kakashi blinked, then laughed awkwardly. "Sorry! How did the operation go?"

"Good," Sakura said over the running water, "But I'm starting to get the nickname 'Poison Master' now!"

"Ehh…I thought my kawaii student would have a better nickname than that!" Kakashi teased, closing his book.

"I wish!" Sakura said mournfully. She looked down at her purple splattered tunic, and combing the hair plastered to her head with sweat through her fingers. "We'll have to delay our drink, sensei. I need to go shower and change!"

* * *

><p>Kakashi followed Sakura to her apartment, a five-minute walk from the hospital. She had moved out a year ago, needing independence from her parents, she had said. She had immediately apologised for the off-hand remark: Kakashi, Naruto and Sai had never had such an option. But they knew her words had not meant harm.<p>

Unlike her office, Sakura's small flat was a mess, mainly because she only was barely there. Laundry was draped over every available hanging space; empty takeaway cartons piled on the countertops, and the wooden floor was dusty. It wasn't dirty though: it just felt unlived in.

"There's some beers in the fridge!" Sakura called, as she stripped off in the bedroom. "I'll be quick as I can!"

Kakashi shrugged out of his green jonin vest, preparing to get comfortable. Although Sakura was quicker than most females he knew, Kakashi had learned that 30 minutes was the average time it took Sakura to shower, dry her hair and pick an outfit.

Despite being a medic-nin, Sakura's fridge wasn't very healthy. The only fruit was a pot of strawberry yogurt. The drawers were rammed with pre-made meals from the combini, though Kakashi couldn't blame her. No one wanted to come home after hours of putting people back together and make a meal from scratch.

They both liked the same beer, which was a plus, so Kakashi opened one as he waded through the washing, very careful to avoid looking at his student's underwear. Especially the silky ones.

Although it had been a tiring day, Sakura was feeling upbeat after a nice, hot shower. She rubbed her hair with a towel as she headed into the bedroom, contemplating what to wear.

Kakashi was wearing what he always wore, but that wasn't a surprise. Her teacher wasn't exactly the most fashion conscious. But Sakura was confined to scrubs most days– she relished the chance to wear something different.

"Ahh, this one!" Sakura remembered her last shopping trip with Ino. She had recommended the medic-nin wear a colour other than red– "It clashes with your hair, dummy! Don't you want a boyfriend?!"

The words made Sakura blush as she found the new green dress she had bought. It was a shift dress, slightly tight fitting, with a v-neck collar ("allowing for a little cleavage…or push up bra!" Ino had said). There were slits up the sides for ease of movement, so Sakura wore her black leggings underneath.

The night was humid and Sakura's hair was already drying. She opened a window as she applied some light make-up.

"Nearly ready?" Kakashi asked, wandering into her room. He put a beer down next to her and watched as she put on a clear lipgloss.

"Yup!" Sakura smiled, and took a sip from the beer. "Ahh, that hits the spot. Where you do want to go eat, sensei?" Sakura eyed her teacher without his jonin jacket. "You seem to have lost weight, you know!"

"You can talk," Kakashi retorted, leaning over and pinching Sakura's waist. The girl jumped, swatting him away with her mascara brush, "I can see what you had for breakfast. Or should I say, didn't have…"

"I'm doing a lot of running around just now!" Sakura said defensively, "In fact I'm pigging out more than usual!"

"Hmm…?" Kakashi sounded unconvinced as he looked down at his student. It was true she had taken a stretch, and now had the body of a woman rather than a girl. The dress she was wearing clung to her breasts, stomach and bunched at her hips while the leggings revealed toned calves.

"Stop staring, you pervert!" Sakura teased, feeling his gaze on her body. To her surprise, her teacher leaned closer, his mask a few inches from her face. Sakura caught his scent; a woody and comforting smell.

"Stop it!" Sakura giggled pushing him away. "Come on, let's go eat!"

* * *

><p>They decided on yaki-niku in the end.<p>

"Yay, Kakashi-sensei's treat! Let's eat a lot!" Sakura said happily, as plate after plate of meat was put down before them.

"Ehh?" the copy-nin sweat-dropped. "Well, I guess. I didn't get you anything for your new job, so…"

"Plus, it's a special day, right?" Sakura beamed, holding up her right thumb. There was a little silver scar there, in the shape of a heart. Kakashi had been embarrassed the first time she had showed him, but was secretly impressed she had managed to do such a thing. He had no mark, but he touched the pad of his thumb even so, remembering that night two years ago.

"We've been through a lot since then..." Sakura said, as the final plate of meat was put down before them. "But we've both been there for each other, ne?"

It was true, Kakashi reflected, as the he watched the girl gleefully pick up the slices of meat with her chopsticks, laying them carefully on the grill. A few months after their pact, Sakura had broken down as she was unable to save a patient; a young genin with dark hair. It had been a rough night, and the first time Kakashi had stayed in her apartment, allowing her to cry into his chest once again.

Things were good for a while until the Hokage had sent Kakashi on a private mission. He had to eliminate some rogue nin from the Valley of the Hidden Mist, who had taken to attacking Konoha ninjas in an attempt to steal their weapons and provisions. There had been four nin, and they had recognised him instantly as "Kakashi of the Sharingan." After destroying their camp with his fire ninjustsu, only two nin remained. They used the smoke of the fire to their advantage, making it hard for Kakashi to track their movements through sight or smell.

Upon being surprised by a shuriken plunging into his back, the copy nin had no choice but to use Chidori on the attacker. The lightening illuminated the face of a young girl, with dark eyes and short brown hair. Shock blossomed across her features as she cried out in pain.

Kakashi had already plunged his hand through her stomach and her eyes fixed on him as she tried to form words. The copy-nin turned to the remaining rogue, who was screaming in anger. He fired many kunai infused with chakra towards Kakashi.

For a split moment, the copy-nin had intended not to dodge. Sweat had broken out over his skin, and the female nin slid to the ground, her blood splattering over him, coating his hands. Then his thumb twitched, and he remembered the pact with Sakura. _I need to live!_

He had climbed in Sakura's window an hour later, still dripping with blood and shivering. The medic-nin had woken immediately and luckily had sense not to yell. She gently led Kakashi to her bathroom where she helped him peel off his saturated layers. Sakura had left him to bathe while she soaked his bloody clothes, a task she was all too familiar with. Luckily she still had some sweats of Naruto's and a too big, standard issue genin shirt, so Kakashi had something dry and clean to wear once Sakura had coaxed him from the bath. Knowing he wasn't comfortable showing his face, Sakura had left out one of her cotton hospital face-masks.

He hadn't wanted anything to eat, so Sakura laid out a spare futon on the floor. Kakashi went to bed without a word, but during the night she woke to the pants of his panic attack.

Without a word, Sakura got out of her warm bed once again, and crouched down next to her teacher. He had one hand over the cotton mask, as if trying not to scream.

"Kakashi-sensei," the medic-nin rubbed his back supportively, "Do you want to talk about it?"

* * *

><p>"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura's voice interrupted the copy-nin's musings. "The meat is done!"<p>

"Ahh…thanks…" Kakashi mumbled, as Sakura piled food on his plate. He dipped a piece of meat into the lemon juice provided, and topped it off with some rice.

"Delicious," he said happily, noting Sakura carefully keeping her eyes on her plate. She no longer tried to catch a glimpse of his face; in fact, she seemed to go out her way to give him privacy. It was rather cute.

Sakura put more meat on to grill, inhaling the mouth-watering smell. "Makes you happy to be alive, ne?"

Kakashi regarded his student's face. Her smile reached her eyes, which were gleaming with mischief. Her cheeks were a little flushed. She looked pretty, content and full of life…a contrast to two years ago.

"Aa," the copy-nin agreed. At that moment, their drinks arrived. Kakashi stuck to beer, whereas Sakura had ordered her favourite, umeshu on the rocks.

"Yum!" Sakura giggled after one sip. The drink sweet smelling, just like the girl enjoying it.

After they ate their body weight in meat, and Kakashi tried to avoid the bill (Sakura's grip was inescapable) they found themselves gazing up at the Hokage monument.

"Naruto is doing well, under Shisho," Sakura reflected, leaning on a fence to look up at the five carved faces. "She says he'll be the best Hokage there ever was."

"I'm glad to hear it," Kakashi laughed. He had been helping Naruto train when possible; the boy could now release earth, wind, water and fire.

"He's visiting Garaa just now," Sakura explained, "It's meant to be a routine trip but goodness knows what chaos he will cause!"

"He's lucky to have a good friend and alliance in Garaa," Kakashi acknowledged. Sakura nodded, leaning a little more on the fence, a bit tipsy after three bottles of umeshu.

"Did you reply to Kankuro?" Kakashi asked slyly. Garaa's brother had taken an interest in the medic-nin who had saved his life, and had written several letters over the course of the year.

"Ehh?" Sakura immediately flushed, "How did you know about that?"

"I saw the letter on your desk," Kakashi laughed, tousling Sakura's now fluffy hair, "He clearly likes you."

"I…I don't think of him like that!" Sakura stuttered, shaking her head, "Besides, the Sand is too far away. I'm not interested in a long-distance relationship."

"Ah, so you considered it?" the copy-nin teased, his eye crinkling.

"What…what about you, sensei?" Sakura exclaimed, trying to divert his attention. "You should settle down before you turn grey…oh no, too late!"

"Cheeky little…!" Kakashi cursed good-naturedly, as Sakura leapt away, laughing, from his pinching fingers. She hopped over the fence, and bounded through the field, giggling as she heard her teacher pursue her.

"You might be strong," Kakashi smirked, appearing in front of her, "But we know I'm faster. Even if I am an old man…"

Sakura backtracked unsteadily, before falling over a rut. "Umph!"

"Careful!" Kakashi chided as he stood above her, hands on his hips. "I thought you were meant to be an elegant and graceful woman now?"

Sakura grit her teeth and swooped her legs, catching her teacher's ankle and making him wobble, losing his balance and falling on top of her.

"Eee!" Sakura squealed, as Kakashi braced his weight with his hands, at either side of her face.

"I guess we're a bit more drunk than we thought, ne?" Kakashi muttered, pushing himself into a sitting position. "Are you okay, Sakura?"

"Yes!" the pink haired kunoichi said breathlessly. It had only been a moment, but the weight of her teacher's body on hers had stopped her heart and made her want to freeze time. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of such thoughts, when Kakashi suddenly loomed over her once again.

"Did you hit your head?" he asked worriedly, gently touching her scalp, checking for bumps. She felt his legs at either side of her own, trapping her. The need to wrap her arms around her teacher's back and press her body to his was terrifying.

"No!" Sakura squeaked, pushing against Kakashi's chest so she could get up. "You know how clumsy I am! Silly me!"

"O-okay…" Kakashi had felt the mood change, but he wasn't quite sure what had happened. They had play fought many times before, and sure, he'd never had Sakura pinned beneath him life that, but…

The copy-nin shook his head to rid it of dangerous thoughts. "Let's get you home then, Miss Clumsy."

Sakura wasn't quite in the mood to go home though, and they ended up in a cheap and nasty Izakaya, drinking chūhai and eating edamame. As a result, several hours later, they staggered back to Kakashi's apartment, which was closer. Drunk past the point of talking, Sakura climbing into Kakashi's futon and promptly fell asleep. The copy-nin curled up under his kotatsu with a cushion and let unconsciousness take him.


	3. One month later

_One month later…_

* * *

><p>Sakura had been looking forward to Kakashi's return. It was always unsettling when he was away. For some reason, she could go weeks without seeing her old teacher, but knowing he was safe in Konoha, she was fine with it. But when Kakashi was away on missions, especially for long ones like this, she felt twitchy.<p>

Her solution was to take on as much overtime at the hospital that was physically possible. It was the reason she was half asleep on her desk at half two in the morning, the lamp on its lowest setting, when one of the medic-nin banged on her door.

"Sakura-sensei, are you there?"

"I'm not sleeping!" Sakura shot up from her desk, a piece of paper attached to her mouth with drool. She ripped it off and rushed to the door. "What's happened?"

The medic-nin, Azu, was wringing her hands and couldn't quite look her boss in the face.

"Kakashi and his team returned…you better come quickly…"

Sakura felt her heart drop to her toes. The special unit wasn't due back until the end of the week. Something must have gone badly wrong.

* * *

><p>Sakura dashed along the corridor, flinging on her green surgical apron. The other members of the team, Sai and Kiba, were lying in bed looking rather beaten up, but their sheets were still white, which was a good sign.<p>

"Sakura…" Sai caught her eye as she briskly walked past, "Please…help him. We weren't able to get to him in time…"

Sakura nodded and swallowed, reaching the end of the ward, where screens had been drawn. A bad sign.

"Give me the stats!" Sakura snapped into Head Healer mode as she stepped around the screens. Three medic-nin were struggling to stop the blood flowing from her old teacher's wounds. His silver hair was more disarrayed than normal, and his mask was slit from the neck, sticking to his face with blood. Kakashi's breathing was laboured and raspy. Blood was leaking from his eyelid, which was shielding the sharingan from view.

"Pierced right lung," Azu spoke up as she stripped the torn clothing from Kakashi. "Several crushed ribs, broken right arm and dislocated shoulder. Possible further internal damage."

Sakura nodded, her mouth dry. She began to draw on her chakra and the other medic-nin stepped back.

"Let's deal with the lung first," Sakura said, her voice sounded calmer than she felt. Follow my lead."

The pink haired kunoichi stood at the right side of the bed, her hands hovering over Kakashi's torso. She could see the way the skin protruded from his chest that things were not going to heal smoothly.

She gently rolled back his left eyelid, confirming the copy-nin was indeed out of it.

"Azu, get a morphine drip please. This is not going to be pleasant."

Taking a deep breath and concentrating her chakra, Sakura laid her palms down flat on Kakashi's chest. His skin was blood streaked and badly bruised.

The other medic-nin watched carefully as Sakura pumped healing chakra into the man beneath her fingers. Kakashi began to cough as his lung started to repair, and his jerky movements caused a medic-nin to hold a paper bowl to his mouth, realising too late the mask was in the way.

"Sorry, sensei," Sakura whispered, before reaching up to pull off the remaining part of the mask. The medic-nin, a fairly new recruit called Eri, gasped as Kakashi's face was revealed. Luckily the shock was short lived as Kakashi began to cough up blood and the bowl was held under his mouth while Azu found a clean towel.

Sakura gritted her teeth, angry that she had seen Kakashi's face in this situation (she had always pictured it would be a little romantic). The fact that three other strangers had seen her sensei's face was even more infuriating. Sakura couldn't help but notice, as she was healing his lung, that Kakashi had a scar across the left corner of his lip.

"Azu, hurry with that morphine!" Sakura called, as she got to the tricky part. Kakashi began to convulse under her fingers.

"Hold him down!" the pink haired girl barked, and two medic-nin immediately jumped, pushing down on Kakashi's shoulders as much as they thought possible.

The copy-nin groaned at his, no doubt in pain from his other injuries. Sakura whispered an apology while sweat dripped from her brow. "Nearly…"

Azu hastily inserted the morphine drip into Kakashi's left hand with a bit of a fight.

"Behave, sensei!" Sakura scolded and the copy-nin seemed to react to her voice, settling down.

"Okay, lung is done," the Head Healer sighed. "Next, ribs. Eri, I'm going to talk you through while I replenish my chakra."

* * *

><p>It took another three hours to get Kakashi patched up. When they were finished, Sakura ignored the medic-nins' pleas to rest, and sent them to check Sai and Kiba were comfortable. Sakura then sat on a chair next to her old teacher and carefully sponged away the dried blood from his skin. She had seen Kakashi's chest several times on missions, and it had never really had an affect on her before. Now, up close, seeing his defined abs and the many scars decorating his skin, Sakura could only gaze with wonder.<p>

"What a pervert," the girl muttered under her breath, "it must be catching…"

It was impossible to dress Kakashi with all the drips he was attached to, so Sakura decided to cover him with the sheet. She took one last look at his face before carefully raising the fabric to his nose. As the material touched his cheeks, the copy-nin opened his normal eye lazily. Even though the lights were out in the ward now, he focused onto Sakura immediately.

"Yo," he said weakly.

"Yo yourself," Sakura smiled, slumping in her chair. "How do you feel?"

"Peachy," Kakashi replied, interrupting himself with a cough. Sakura immediately reached for the nearby bowl.

"You okay?" Sakura asked. "I patched your lung but you might still cough up blood."

"I'm fine," Kakashi turned his head to look at Sakura. "You look awful, though."

"Thanks," Sakura laughed, running her hands through her mussed up hair. She had tied it up in a bun, and she was pretty sure she had blood on her face. "I was too busy saving your ass to look pretty for you waking up."

Kakashi tried to laugh, which turned into coughing, and this time he needed the bowl.

"Sorry," he said afterwards, wiping his mouth with the towel Sakura gave him.

"Can't be helped," Sakura explained. "Your lung will be raw for a while. You need to take it easy for a week or two."

Kakashi nodded, then returned the towel to Sakura, leaving his face uncovered. The girl swallowed. Seeing her sensei's bare face, with his eye open, was strangely erotic.

"I'm sorry…" Sakura tilted her head as she looked at the ground, "Earlier, three medic-nin saw your face…"

"It's fine, Sakura," Kakashi said soothingly. "I know you had no choice."

"I still feel bad…" Sakura admitted. "I know I never asked, but you cover your face for a reason, right?"

"Yeah…" Kakashi trailed off. Sakura was still looking at the ground, so she jumped when the copy-nin suddenly grabbed her hand. "Hey, stop beating yourself up. If it wasn't for you, the only people who'd be seeing my face would be the morgue workers."

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura gasped, and she felt tears spring into her eyes.

"It's true. I know it was close." Kakashi smiled, and it was the first time she had seen his real smile. "So, thank you, Sakura. You couldn't have done any more."

The medic-nin was glad the lights were out, because her old teacher's smile, and the warm hand squeezing hers caused her face to blush scarlet. Kakashi's hand was so big and rough- she could feel the calluses on his palm. His thumb stroked the top her hand, and it made her feel tingly inside.

"What happened?" Sakura asked gently.

"Urgh," Kakashi groaned, clearly remembering. "I told you what it was for, right? The client wanted us to track down a serial killer. They specifically asked for a team good at tracking scents because no one was able to catch this guy. It should have been straight forward, but he was a cunning bastard. Set a trap and held a poor girl hostage. Sai and Kiba ended up at the wrong location. I wasn't able to beat the crap out of him because he had a knife at the girl's throat, and he was wearing reflective glasses so I couldn't even use the sharingan at first."

Sakura let out a breath. "Oh boy. So I guess he was a rogue nin?"

"Yeah, not one of ours though, not sure where the bastard came from. Typical 'I've had a crap life and this is what I'm owed' type of guy. Long story short, I put myself in harm's way to grab the girl."

"Typical hero," Sakura giggled, squeezing Kakashi's hand.

"That's me," Kakashi agreed, wincing a little.

"You okay?" Sakura asked, leaning closer. She put her palm against the copy-nin's head. "You don't have a fever…"

"No, it's just my eye," Kakashi explained. "I tried to open the sharingan there. But it's still throbbing."

"It was pretty tender," Sakura said, placing two cool fingertips on the puffy eyelid. "I healed it the best I could." The copy-nin exhaled loudly as Sakura stroked the eyelid, ebbing a little healing chakra into the skin.

"Sorry, am I hurting you?" Sakura asked, drawing her hand away.

"No," Kakashi said, and his hand grabbed the girl's wrist, keeping her in place. "It feels good."

Sakura swallowed, feeling her cheeks heat up once again from the unexpected words and touch of her mentor. "O-okay…"

They sat like that for a while, and eventually Kakashi slipped into sleep. Sakura, too exhausted to move, rested her head near the foot of his bed and kept vigil.

* * *

><p>"Sakura. Sa-ku-raaa…"<p>

Someone was shaking her from her sleep. Sakura tried to bat the person away, but they were persistent. The medic-nin was still exhausted, and tried to twist from the annoying shaking.

It was with a bump Sakura woke up, landing dazed on the floor. Kakashi was half frozen trying to get out of bed, but clearly unable to work out how to escape the maze of wires.

"Itaiii…" Sakura rubbed her behind and slowly got to her feet.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Kakashi apologised, ruffling his hair. "You were sleeping so soundly, but I could hear the other medic-nin looking for you…"

"Damn, what time is it?!" Sakura peeked out from behind the screen to check the ward clock. "Nine o'clock! Argh, I overslept!"

"You still look tired," Kakashi noted, his voice concerned. "You're not intending to work, are you?"

"Yeahhh…" Sakura yawned, rubbing her face. "We're short on staff right now. I'm going to go shower and change. Do you want anything?"

Kakashi looked around. "I guess my clothes didn't survive, right? Can you check and see if my copy of _Dreamer_ is around?"

Sakura rolled her eyes and laughed. "Sure…hentai."

* * *

><p>After a shower and a strong energy drink, Sakura felt ready to face the day. Sai and Kiba were ready to be released, with only bruises and cuts. After checking Kakashi had been given breakfast (miso soup and tea) the medic-nin completed the rest of her ward rounds.<p>

"Sakura-sensei, shouldn't you be resting?" Azu asked worriedly. "You used a lot of chakra yesterday…"

"I'm fine, I had a good sleep," Sakura lied. She hadn't really. Every time she drifted off, she imagined Kakashi's lung collapsing and him choking to death.

"Okay…" Azu didn't sound convinced. "They need help in theater two…"

It was early evening before Sakura was able to personally check on Kakashi again, though she had the medic-nin in his ward give her hourly updates. Lungs were complicated and often the healing could re-open wounds, but Kakashi seemed to be coping well.

"Hey," Sakura popped her head around the screen, which she had kept up to give her sensei the privacy he preferred. "How you feeling?"

"Fine," Kakashi replied, looking up from his battered copy of _Dreamer_. "Shouldn't you be home by now, Sakura?"

"I just wanted to check on my favourite patient," Sakura grinned. "Do you mind if I give you a quick check over?"

"Go ahead." Kakashi put down his book. Sai had fetched him a mask and clean jersey, so he looked like his old self again.

"Can you um…remove your top?" Sakura asked, trying and failing to sound professional.

"Sure…" Meanwhile Kakashi was completely unflustered, even removing his mask and surprising Sakura with his face again.

Sakura ran through the basic checks: heart rate, breathing and temperature.

"Good," she said, noting the stats down. "It'll take a while to get your lung capacity back to normal, but it's not bad at all. Did you cough up any blood today?"

"Yeah, twice," Kakashi said.

Sakura laid her palm flat on the copy-nin's chest. "Do your lungs feel tight?"

"Not particularly."

"Does it hurt when you inhale or exhale?"

"Not much…"

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura sighed, "You need to be honest with me so I can get a proper reading! There's no point acting tough!"

"Sorry," her mentor laughed, "I'm not used to complaining."

"I know…" Sakura acknowledged. She lightly pressed against Kakashi's torso, feeling his ribs under the skin. She felt the copy-nin tense a little at her touch, and wondered if it made him uncomfortable.

"Ribs seem fine," Sakura noted. "I was worried they didn't realign properly…"

"I had every faith in Sakura-chan," Kakashi grinned lazily.

"Watch it," Sakura smirked, "Or I'll have the oldest medic-nin give you a sponge bath…"

"Urgh…" Kakashi grimaced. "Can't that be Sakura's job? I thought I was your favourite patient?"

Sakura struggled to regain her composure at the flippant comment. "The Head Healer doesn't give sponge baths, sensei!"

"Hmm," Kakashi pouted, his hands catching hold of the girl treating him, "You cleaned me up last night though, didn't you?"

"You were awake?" Sakura squeaked, trying to pull back from her mentor's grip.

"Of course," Kakashi chuckled. "Sakura-chan treated me so very tenderly. How could I sleep through that?"

"You're such a jerk sometimes!" the pink hair kunoichi gasped, once again trying to pull away. Normally it would have been easy, as her strength far outweighed Kakashi's, but she had no chakra reserve and the lack of sleep was making her weak. Kakashi's tug unbalanced her, and she ended up on the bed, half sprawled on the copy-nin.

"Idiot!" she squealed, "You're still healing!"

"Luckily Sakura is light as a feather," Kakashi remarked, and he pulled the girl into a hug, her face buried in the crook of his shoulder, his strong, mended arms looped around her waist. "Just for a moment, Sakura. I thought I would never get to hold you again…"

The medic-nin had no retort for this, so hid her red cheeks against Kakashi's neck, inhaling his woodsy smell.

He stroked her hair, which she was glad she had taken the time to wash earlier.

"I've always hate the smell of hospitals," Kakashi explained, "The strong disinfectant and medical scents. But after you started worked here, it clung to your clothes and hair. It became part of you. And I found I didn't mind it anymore…"


End file.
